1936 Bentley 3½ Litre Sedanca Coupe by Windovers

1936 Bentley 3½-Litre Sedanca Coupe by Windovers
Sold for $374,000 Including Commission
RM Auction, Amelia Island, Florida 2014
Chassis no. B111FC
Engine no. G9BA
Registration no. CUW777
105 bhp, 3,669 cc OHV inline six-cylinder engine, twin SU carburetors, four-speed standard gearbox, semi-elliptic front and rear suspension with hydraulic shock absorbers, and brakes operated by mechanical servo. Wheelbase: 126 in.

•Offered from the estate of Charles "Chuck" Swimmer
•One of the most beautiful Bentleys ever produced
•Lightweight one-off coachwork
•Ordered by its original owner for a Royal Automobile Club tour
•A 2003 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance award winner
•Featured in most of the important Bentley reference texts


Rolls-Royce and Bentley Motors Works' manager at Derby, E.W. Hives, headed the team tasked with designing the all-new Bentley 3½-Litre in the early 1930s. He submitted a list of specifications for a sports car that would appeal to a wide range of prospective buyers. His personal notes read, "...answer to the moods of the driver...be driven fast with safety or will tour without fuss and noise...maximum speed should not be obtained at the expense of acceleration...controls, steering, and brakes shall be light to operate, and the braking shall be adequate for a fast car...maximum speed of the car on the road should be 90 mph, 75 mph in third gear."

Armed with Hives' notes and his other instructions, and determined to limit re-tooling costs, the team set to work. The 3½-Litre model was based on the current-series Rolls-Royce 20/25 HP chassis, but it was re-configured using the 20/25's 2¾-liter engine. They increased displacement and added a new crossflow head, twin SU carburetors, a higher compression ratio, and a re-profiled camshaft. The result was a fast, smooth, long-wearing, responsive, excellent-handling car that soon became known as "The Silent Sports Car."

In recent years, the Derby Bentley has come into great favor by all collectors, not just British car enthusiasts. Few pre-war cars carry more graceful coachwork or offer more fun behind the wheel than the Derby Bentley.

From 1933 through 1936, 1,177 Bentley 3½-Litre cars were produced. Of these, only 9 chassis were delivered to Windovers, an age-old British coachbuilder that was founded in 1796. This company was the originator and patentee of many horse-drawn vehicle designs, and it continued until 1956 by building coachwork exclusively on Rolls-Royce and Bentley chassis, many for Indian maharajahs.

The design on this chassis, B111FC, is absolutely unique, as it was tailored for its original owner, B. Gootnick, who accepted delivery in March 1936. The chassis and build information sheets on this car, of which copies have been acquired from the Hunt House and are on file, state that the car was built for "Town work and touring...the car will be used for RAC rally and acceleration should be 'specially considered.'" Undoubtedly, Mr. Gootnick was a gentleman, but he was a gentleman with a lead foot.

As noted in Michael Ellman-Brown's book, Bentley: The Silent Sports Car 1931--1941, chassis number B111FC "could easily have come from the drawing board of a continental coachbuilder. Although the rear portion of the roof has the appearance of a drophead coupe and is fabric-covered, it is in fact fixed; the hood irons are dummies. Also unusual on this car is the very narrow scuttle section, necessitating widening of the bonnet top at the rear, in order to achieve a more graceful flow into the door, the leading edge of which is forward of the norm, because of the rake of the windscreen. The wheel discs are also unusual for an English coachbuilder, adding to the continental flavor."

This car has enjoyed a long and happy history of West Coast show appearances, which is fitting for a car in the Swimmer Collection. It was formerly owned by Herbert Boyer, of pharmaceutical giant Genetech fame, who was known for having only the highest-quality classics and for performing many of his own restorations, with the help of several talented Bay Area restorers.
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Robert Myrick Photography